A Greenpeace activist dressed in a polar bear suit holds up a sign advocating the Kyoto Protocol near an entrance to the Forbidden City.

Protests and direct actions

Carbon dioxide, the most significant global warming gas, is odourless, invisible, and an easy thing to ignore as our world heats up to dangerous levels. At Greenpeace, it's part of our job to make the invisible impossible to ignore. Often this means going to the source of the problem - hanging a banner on a coal plant's giant smokestack, for example. Other times, it means reminding decision makers they have a higher responsibility than the corporate bottom line.

Always we are guided by the principles of non-violence, and our activists have the best possible gear and safety training. We also aren't above using a little humour to get our point across. But as you read about our protests and direct actions, keep in mind that they all depended on individuals, usually just regular people, who made a personal choice to help save their world - even if it meant dressing up like a polar bear!

The latest updates

The social networking giant, Facebook, turned ten today, but what does that have to do with Greenpeace?
Well, whether you’ve signed in or not, Facebook has become a prime mover in digital activism. It's played a role in, and...

Marie Bohlen, a consummate artist known for her nature illustrations and a founding matriarch of Greenpeace, died January 5th at age 89, passing away peacefully at her home in Courtenay, British Columbia.
Besides a distinguished...

I live in a forest, and know that I am fortunate. I watch flicker and siskin in the cedars. I hear thrush and vireo in the veiled vastness. Cutthroat trout inhabit the lake, wolves howl on winter nights, and raccoons venture out with...

My friend Sini Saarela is in jail in Murmansk, along with many other Greenpeace International activists. They are some of the first people in the world to face long jail sentences because they followed their conviction and acted...

What did increased domestic violence in India and Australia, a spike in assaults and murders in the US, ethnic violence in Europe and land invasions in Brazil have in common?
According to new research , published last month,...

Like the Arctic, the deep waters off the coast of New Zealand are under threat as oil and gas companies feverishly line up to start exploratory drilling operations in search of climate-destroying carbon fuel deposits.
In a new oil...

In Europe or the US, a huge 2,000-megawatt coal power project next to a megacity of 10 million would top the list of polluting power plant proposals and attract intense scrutiny. In China, which has continued to add an equivalent...

I've sat in international courtrooms to report on crimes against humanity during wars in Africa or the Balkans, environmental degradation and conflict in South America or armed aggression between Russia and Georgia. I've also reported...

Yes, it's hot both here in Europe and the US, making it easy to forget we were shivering in record cold in March as bouts of northern hemisphere extreme weather continues to fuel concern about climate change and the human cost of it.

Today, in his speech at Georgetown University, President Obama challenged us to answer the essential question for every future energy policy decision we face -- what will the net climate impact be if this project goes forward?
It...